Underwhelming Tenure for Cardinals With Arenado and Goldschmidt
Let’s start by putting this into context. Paul Goldschmidt joined the Cardinals in 2019 when they acquired him from the Diamondbacks. Nolan Arenado arrived two years later in a trade with the Rockies, widely regarded as a lopsided deal in favor of St. Louis.
But step back for a moment: considering that the Cardinals’ objective is to win every year, how successful have those trades really been? After Goldschmidt’s first year in St. Louis, where the team reached the NLCS only to be swept by the Nationals, they haven't come close to returning to the World Series.
In fact, they've regressed. The Cardinals lost to the Padres in the 2020 Wild Card Series and haven't advanced past that round since. This remains true even after acquiring Arenado just before the 2021 season.
A Cardinals team expected to be a force with the duo of Arenado and Goldschmidt heading into 2021 fell short in October, losing the Wild Card game to the Dodgers. The following year saw a similar fate, as St. Louis was swept in the Wild Card series by the Phillies.
Despite two postseason appearances together, Arenado and Goldschmidt have no playoff wins to show for it. This starkly contrasts with “The Cardinal Way” that has defined St. Louis' illustrious history.
However, it's evident that this lack of team success isn't due to Arenado or Goldschmidt’s individual performance. In fact, let's examine each player’s statistics since they joined the Cardinals.
